Riviera: Second Judgment
by Phoenix Lord
Summary: With the defeat of the Accursed and Seth, no one would try to actuate the retribution again. However, the remaining six magi are still determined the unleash the power of the retribution and attain the power of the gods for themselves.
1. Chapter 1

Summary: Everyone thought that with the defeat of the Accursed and Seth, no one would try to actuate the retribution again. However, the remaining six magi are still determined the unleash the power of the retribution and attain the power of the gods for themselves. Branding Ein as a traitor and with the deaths of Ledah and Malice, they send a new Grim Angel to do their bidding.

AN: Hopefully this game isn't outdated yet. I only played through it once and I'm going through it a second time. By the way does anyone have an idea how to load an old file to a new game? I hate the way you gotta level up. Also, where do they get the Diviners' names? Einherjar? Lorelei? Where did that come from?

Disclaimer: I do not own Riveria: The Promised Land.

Ch. 1: Grim Angel

A lone Grim Angel with black wings and a green robe ascended toward the dais where the Diviner Lorelei rested. Six Magi watched as the Grim Angel took up the divine spear.

"And what would you give up in order to wield its power?" the Magi asked.

"Kindness," was the Angel's simple reply, "I have no use for such a thing if that emotion if it would stop me from completing my mission."

Satisfied with the answer, the Magi watched as the Diviner glowed and gave the Grim Angel new powers.

"Now that you have received your Diviner we have a mission for you to complete. We have received word that your predecessors Ledah and Malice have failed their mission to actuate the retribution. It is now your duty to succeed where they have failed. Also the wingless Grim Angel Ein has been branded as a traitor and now sides with the sprites. It is your duty to get rid of him as well and bring back his Diviner Einherjar."

"Thy will shall be done," Kent vowed. With that the Magi disappeared leaving the lone Grim Angel to be on his own again.

"Destroy Ein, huh?" the Grim Angel repeated. He remembered the wingless Grim Angel back when they were young. The brown haired boy was also too soft to do his duty, allowing his 'good' emotions to interfere with what he had to do. He should have released his dark emotions such as anger and hatred to give him power to accomplish his mission. As it was, Ein allowed his emotions to defeat him yet again. No wonder why Ledah had given them up!

"No matter," the Grim Angel told himself. Ein will also be weak in his opinion, no matter why explosive his hatred would allow him to be. He couldn't even master an Execution Overskill as Ledah had when he received his Diviner. With that thought in mind, the Grim Angel went off to see just what his Execution Overskill would allow him to do.

The village of Elendia was in festive mode lately. With the Accursed gone, there was no need to be in constant fear. Of course, something always interesting happens in Fia and Lina's house.

"LINA!" Fia, a green-haired fencer, screamed, "You've been eating the bread I made for Ein again didn't you?"

"Huh?" the brown haired childish archer gave Fia an innocent look, "Lina didn't eat that. I want nuts in it." Fia turned her glare toward a certain blue haired Arc.

"What?" Serene demanded.

"You ate it!" Fia shrieked.

"What are you talking about?" Serene asked.

"Um…people usually have crumbs around their mouth when they eat something, and that's what happened to you so…" Cierra, the red haired witch, tried to explain. Fia was burning in anger at Serene.

"Hey, it was just lying on the table. Why was it just Ein's anyway?" Serene demanded.

"Be-cause, uh…" Fia turned bright red as she thought of an excuse. While the girls waited for Fia to finish speaking, Ein walked in with his familiar Rose trotting beside him.

"Gateau! I was worried when I didn't see you today," Cierra said in relief, "I should have known you were Ein."

"Meow meow! Meow rowr, hisss (My name is Rose! And why won't this potion wear off?)" Ein ignored Rose and walked into another room. All the girls looked at where Ein went off to.

"Gateau, did something happen to Ein?" Cierra asked Rose. "Mrawr (I don't know)" Rose hurried over to the room where Ein was.

"What's wrong?" when Rose came up to Ein, she saw him staring out the window. When he didn't answer or even look at her, Rose thought she knew the answer.

"You're in love, aren't you? So who's the lucky girl? You can tell me. I won't tell, well I can't anyway," Rose pleaded.

"Huh? What?" Ein finally snapped out of his reverie. "Who's the girl you're going out with?" Rose repeated, "And please don't tell me it's that Cierra girl."

"Going out? Where'd you get that idea?" Ein demanded.

"Well, you're just staring out the window oblivious to everything around you," Rose pointed out.

"It's not because of that," Ein insisted, "It's just…I feel like something's about to go wrong." As if he remembered something, Ein stood up and picked up his Diviner. He hurried out of Fia's house and entered the forest.

Ein entered the clearing of the forest where the urge to meet someone originated.

'Why am I here? Who is it that called me?" Ein wondered. Suddenly he recognized the feeling, "The Magi!"

"Close. They were the ones that sent me here," a voice answered. Ein looked up and saw someone with black wings standing on a branch of a tree. The Grim Angel jumped down and brandished Lorelei.

Ein recognized the black haired angel, "Kent!"

"Ein, we met again. For the last time," without waiting for a response, Kent unleashed a furious string of spear attacks. Ein blocked with his Einherjar then did a counter slash which Kent blocked with Lorelei's shaft.

"Why are you using Ledah's Diviner? How did you get it?" Ein demanded as he continued his assault.

"Why else? Ledah has no use for Lorelei now. I'm a Grim Angel now that all of you are useless," Kent answered as he blocked Ein's attacks, "The Magi has ordered me to activate the retribution, and I will do my duty."

"I won't let you destroy Riveria," Ein declared. His Diviner began to glow, "This is the will of the gods: Disastera!"

Kent was surprised to see Ein pull off an Execution Overskill, but he did not let it paralyze him. His Diviner began to glow, "Get ready for this: Twilight Tempest!"

The power of two Execution Overskills collided with each other and caused a massive explosion. As the smoke cleared, both combatants staggered up, injured from the explosion but still able to fight. Unfortunately, that fight would have to wait. Rising from the hole that was created from the explosion, a huge skeleton dragon rose. Kent and Ein recognized him from the legends they read.

"After 100 years of being imprisoned by those fools, I am now free!" Hades roared. Eager to experience his new freedom before he destroys, Hades flew up into the sky, leaving the two combatants waiting for his day of judgment.

After seeing what he had done, Kent wondered if he should have given up his impulsiveness.

"Blast! I let Hades loose!" Kent berated himself.

"We'll have to stop him. Why don't you join our side?" Ein suggested.

"Keh. Join you? Have you forgotten we're still enemies?" Kent pointed out, "I'll destroy Hades first. Then I'll destroy you. That's a promise." Kent opened his wings and flew into the sky, leaving Ein by himself.

AN: So I got a new Grim Angel in this story, and he and Ein freed Hades. Hades is the boss in extra chapter, but I don't see why. So I'm going make him earn his name Secret Boss by having him attempt to destroy the world. Please tell me what you think about it, and don't flame me for no reason at all.


	2. New Goals

AN: New Record! I updated faster than usual! Everyone open a bottle of champagne and let's party! Anyway, with the introduction of Kent, you're bound to see more of him. However, he's not the hero of the story, Ein is, and I like him just fine. He uses a sword (I think that's what Einherjar is), after all.

Disclaimer: I do not own Riveria: The Promised Land.

Ch. 2 New Goals

Ein looked at the speck that Kent had become. At the entrance of the clearing, the girls and Rose came bursting through.

"Ein!" All the girls hugged, embraced, or most likely crushed Ein when they reached him.

"Meow, meeeow, rwaarr (Careful, he's injured)!" Rose tried to scold. Of course, no one could understand her.

Ein thought he heard a couple of his bones snap from the group hug. After making sure that Ein was not _fatally_ wounded, the girls stepped back.

"Meeeow meow raowr meow mrawr! (What happened)?" Rose demanded, "(You just ran off without telling me anything!)"

"Sorry, just ran into someone from my past," Ein apologized.

"Oh, a friend you knew when you were younger?" Cierra asked.

"Yeah, right," Serene scoffed, "Do you think a friend would do that to Ein?" She pointed out the injuries Ein had sustained before they hugged/crushed him.

"WHAT!" Fia finally noticed Ein's injuries and immediately began shooting out questions such as if Ein was alright, when did he get the injuries, who did it, etc.

"Uh, Fia, can you please slow down?" Ein begged. His head was already aching from the explosion and it couldn't keep up with all the questions Fia was asking.

"What Lina wants to know is who did this to my poor Ein," Lina pouted.

"Hey! What makes him yours?" the rest of the girls demanded. "Look, let's forget that little comment. Who did you fight, Ein?" Serene asked.

"Kent, another Grim Angel from Asgard," Ein answered.

"Meow (Kent)!" Rose was startled. Being Ein's Familiar, she too was acquainted with the new threat, "Mwoar (Why)?"

"He said he came here to actuate the retribution," Ein answered.

"The Retribution!" everyone had a shocked look on their faces.

"But we got rid of the Accursed, Seth, and Hector. There shouldn't be anyone else trying to activate the Retribution, is there?" Serene asked.

Ein's memories went back to his fight. "They were the ones that sent me here," Kent had said, "The Magi has ordered me to activate the retribution, and I will do my duty."

"Ein?" the girls saw that something was on his mind. "I thought Hector was the only one who authorized using the Retribution. After all, I only had to report to him. But what if the other six Magi were involved in this as well?" Ein pondered. As Ein and the girls discussed what they should do, Rose was examining the hole in the middle of a crater.

"Meow meow meow (Was something down there)?" Rose asked.

"I forgot about that! Hades is free now!" Ein yelped.

"Rwoar (Hades)?" Rose heard legends about Hades. He was sealed away to the core of Riviera after the gods of Asgard defeated him, but he still managed to cause massive destruction to the world.

"Who's Hades?" Lina had to ask. Since the girls were from Riviera and legends about the gods and their battles were unknown here, it was only natural that they didn't have a clue of who Hades is.

"Hades was the sworn enemy of the gods. Legends say that he was cast into the center of Riviera after the gods defeated him," Ein explained. Cierra examined the hole along with Rose.

"And this is where he came out?" Cierra asked. Since there were no other holes in the ground, the answer was obvious, so the other girls just gave her a look.

In the center realm of Asgard, the six magi felt a dark power returning to their world. One of them voiced the thought that appeared to all six of them, "Hades has returned."

The Magi pondered over this new factor and how it might be best to use it to their advantage.

"Perhaps we can have it work for us," one Magi suggested.

"Interesting proposition. But will he agree?" another Magi asked.

"Make him an offer he can't refuse. Perhaps allow him to destroy Riviera without our interference. It was part of the plan anyway," suggested a third Magi, "Then when Riviera is in ruins, we destroy him."

When the Magi agreed to this plan, the fourth one asked, "Shall we send our Grim Angel to make the offer to Hades?"

"No," the fifth Magi responded, "He has a strong sense of justice. If he hears that we will work with Hades, he will betray us just as the wingless angel has."

"He will have to be taken care of soon, just as he would have to take care of the traitor," the sixth Magi agreed, "That sense of justice could lead him to fight against us."

The girls were helping Ein along to the house when Molan, a young sprite girl, came bursting out to meet them. "Ein!" she was shrieking, "Demons are attacking the village!"

"What?" Fia demanded. With the defeat of the Accursed, the demons had not appeared for quite some time, which is why hearing about them now surprised her.

"Guess Hades is finished his little break," Ein said.

"Hades? Who's that?" Molan asked.

"We'll explain later. Cierra, Lina, take Molan to a safe place. Ein, Serene, and I will deal with the demons," Fia ordered.

"Aww, I never get to learn anything," Molan complained as Cierra and Lina led her away.

"Let's take care of this!" Serene snarled as they ran toward the village.

Kent was staring out to the lake, wondering in which direction he should go. The Magi had ordered him to kill Ein, but surely they wouldn't a God of Destruction running loose. Which assignment should he finish first? Perhaps he should go with the direction he decided: Go after Hades first. After all Hades was more powerful, so if he got rid of him, he should have no problems getting rid of Ein. Ein would also go after Hades, making Hades more convenient to destroy first. He wasn't worried that Ein would turn on him while Hades was around, as long as Kent doesn't bother Ein, he wouldn't bother him. It was a weakness Ein had. Kent sighed as his mind went back to the past. He and Ein were never friends but there was a type of…understanding between the two. The one thing that Kent found admirable about Ein was his devotion to the gods. When he heard that Ein had turned his back on them, that was what surprised Kent. The only explanation why Ein would do betray the gods was because of false orders, and the only people who gave them the orders were the Magi. Kent found this reasoning faulty. The Magi were only concerned about doing the will of the gods and protecting Asgard. There must be another reason why Ein betrayed them, and Kent had no desire to learn what that reason was. As Kent got up to hunt for Hades, a Magi appeared before him.

"What is thy bidding?" Kent asked as he gave a respectful bow to his superior.

When Kent finished, the Magi ordered, "Tell me of your progress." Kent winced and the Magi caught the expression. Fortunately he did not start barking out threats like some of the other Magi that Kent had to deal with sometimes.

"I've managed to locate Ein and engaged in battle with him," Kent recounted, "During our battle we both used our Execution Overskills and caused a hole deep into Riviera. From that hole Hades has emerged." The Magi just looked at Kent when he made that announcement and Kent thought the Magi was judging whether or not he was worthy to serve them any further.

"I will do all I can to correct this mistake," Kent said with another bow.

"Very well, do not fail us," the Magi ordered. Kent took the reprimand in silence. Kent awaited further instructions and when none came he asked, "And what of Hades?"

"Your concern will be Ein. The Magi will take care of Hades," he told Kent.

"It will be as the gods will," Kent promised. When the Magi disappeared, Kent shook his head. The Magi seemed to be more worried about Ein than with Hades.

"Well, they didn't say to handle Ein before handling Hades," Kent reasoned to himself. Kent leapt into the sky and began his search.

AN: Another new record for me. That was the longest thing I've written for enjoyment. Anyway, read and review, and no flames just because you have nothing else to do.

For acknowledgments if the reviews, here are some of my comments for them.

Anonymous: From what I was able to get out of it, they could choose which stuff to give up. I mean, the stuff they had to give up didn't hamper their duties and in Ledah's and Malice's case, it was "convenient." Of course, I could be wrong. If I am, thanks for the correction.

Megaolix: I know the battle stinks, but I can't do: Slash here, Thrust there, Stab up, Parry straight, etc. I'll try to work on it though, so thanks for the tip. Anyway, the battle was supposed to be short, Kent wanted to end the battle right away and go home.

Biggoron: Thanks for the review. And yes, I will update as fast as I can. Can't make any promises though…


	3. The New Breed

AN: I "improved" this chapter a bit. See if you can spot the difference.

Disclaimer: Same phrase as last chapter.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ch. 3 The New Breed: The Desolate

When Ein, Serene, and Fia arrived on the scene, they saw pacts of Hell Hounds ravaging the village and terrorizing those who lived in it. Four of the wolf life creatures were working on destroying Fia's house.

"This is going to take a while," Ein sighed.

"These guys are weak. This will be a cinch!" Serene assured him.

She sped over to the hounds at Fia's place and slashed her scythe. Her attack hit one of the wolves and launched it a feet away from the house. The other three hounds leapt back with a snarl. They circled around the Arc, ready to pounce when she let down her guard.

"Come on, at try to make this interesting," Serene taunted them.

With a harsh howl, the Hell Hounds leapt toward her, claws pointing forward and with jaws wide open. With a smirk, Serene leapt up and hovered as the hounds bashed into each others' heads. While she was laughing, Serene failed to notice another Hell Hound sitting at the top branch. It leapt on top of Serene and drove her to the ground. It bared its fangs and was about to bite her when it got knocked back by Fia's rapier. It whined and backed up to its four companions, which was what Fia had been waiting for.

"My resolve shall prevail: Cadenza!" Fia unleashed her Overskill and took down two of the Hell Hounds. The other three decided that they were overmatched and decided to make a run for it.

"They're running away?" Serene asked as she struggled up.

"It's only a temporary retreat," a voice snarled from the shadows of the trees.

A creature stepped forward to face them, a creature that had two heads that each had two horns. It also had four wings and was midnight black.

"Is he one of the Accursed!" Ein demanded as he readied his Diviner.

"The Accursed?" the creature barked out a laugh, "Don't compare us to those weaklings. We are the Desolate, servants of Hades!" Ein, Fia, and Serene got back into formation and faced the creature.

"Before your death, allow me to tell you who I am. I am called Death Hound and I shall be feasting on your flesh today," Death Hound promised.

Fia and Ein readied their weapons and charged toward Death Hound. The Death Hound dodged their attacks and used its wings to blow Fia and Ein away from it. Laughing, the Death Hound flew up into the sky to do an air assault when Serene hit him when he was in the air. Snarling in anger, the Death Hound slashed its claws at Serene and knocked her into Ein, bowling both of them to the ground. Diving toward them, the Death Hound failed to see an attack coming from behind until it felt a rapier stab him. Growling in pain, it whirled around and slashed Fia.

"He's stronger than the Accursed," Fia hissed as she got back up.

"We can't lose! We have to finish this and help the villagers!" Ein declared. When his Diviner began to glow, Ein was ready to finish the battle.

"This is the will of the gods: Disaresta!" Ein's sword attacks hit their mark, but when he finished, the Death Hound was bleeding from multiple cuts, but was still standing proudly.

"Such power…" Ein gasped. He and his team were exhausted and bleeding, but they knew that they couldn't give up.

"Still willing to fight? Allow me to end your suffering: Bullet Dive!" The Death Hound shot toward Ein's group and knocked everyone off their feet. They hit the ground hard and Fia and Serene blacked up for a bit.

"Too easy," the Death Hound chuckled.

'No, I can't let it end like this,' Ein thought as he struggled up, 'I can't give up yet!'

Fia and Serene regained their senses and saw Ein starting to glow. Two white wings sprouted from Ein's back and his cuts began to heal. When all of his wounds were gone, the wings and the glow shattered. Ein felt his strength return to him. Ein readied his Einherjar for the final blow.

"This will end it! This is the will of the gods: Disaresta!"

Unprepared for a renewed assault, the Death Hound took a second hit from an Execution Overskill, and this time it went down. Seeing their leader down, the weaker hounds scattered and left the village.

"Ein!" Fia and Serene limped toward him.

"You two just rest. I'm going to see if anyone else needs help," Ein said.

Searching through the village, he found the villagers terrified and battered, but had no fatal injuries. Relieved, Ein counted the people who were there: all the faries including Nana, Nono, Lulu, and Coco; the Elder Graham, the undine Meute, the dryad Claude, the harpuia Rebecca, the witch Soala, the gnome Ritz, the blacksmith Chappi, Mursya the werecat, Gil the young boy sprite, Mylene the mother sprite, and Kyle the father sprite.

"Wait, why hasn't Molan come back yet?" Ein realized. Hurrying back to his group, Ein asked it they had noticed if Molan came back.

"Uh, no. But I'm sure she's fine…" Serene trailed off as she noticed who were in their group, "Oh, snatch!"

"What is it?" Fia demanded.

"Well, if you, Ein and I are here, who's with Molan?" Serene pointed out.

"Well, there's…" Ein stopped as he realized the situation they were in. Lina wasn't too good at remember directions and Cierra wouldn't be paying attention to where they were going.

"See?" Serene had to point out.

"We'll just have to look for them," Ein said brightly then thought, 'If we're lucky.'

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Cierra, I'm tired!" both Lina and Molan complained for what seemed to be around a thousand times.

"I'm sure we'll get back to Elendia soon," Cierra assured them.

Truthfully, she was getting tired herself, both from getting lost and from Lina and Molan's complaints. She should have spoken against the arrangement Fia had made except Fia, Serene, and Ein had left before she had the chance. Then Lina and had to run off before they could decide where they should be going.

'I'm going to stay in the Magic Guild and stick with reading all their books before I have to take care of children again,' Cierra promised. When she came out of her thoughts, she noticed that Lina and Molan had gone off on their own again.

"Ohhh…" Cierra groaned, "Lina! Molan! Get back here this instant!" When there was no reply, Cierra grew desperate. She hoped that the demons did not find them. She heard some branches breaking and dove into that direction.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Kent managed to find Hades flying above a forest near a little tree village, the same place where Hades managed to break free from his prison.

"You haven't found a new hiding place, huh?" Kent said as he charged toward Hades.

Hades dodged a charging spear thrust and slapped Kent with his wings. Kent maneuvered his wings to use the wind to prevent him from sliding any further from Hades. After regaining his balance, Kent resumed his attack on Hades, this time using a combo of three spear slashes. Hades blocked them with his skeleton wings and struck back with its poison breath.

"Blast!" Kent shot up to avoid the poison then dove down for another spear thrust, which Hades dodged again.

"Is that all?" Hades asked.

"Not yet. Now I'll finish this: Twilight Tempest!" Kent executed an 6 combo spear thrusts with a burst of energy falling from the sky that managed to find their mark on Hades. When Kent was done, Hades was unfazed.

"That's the sacred power of the Diviner? Pathetic," Hades rumbled, "Let me show you true power: Curse of Chaos!"

Hades transformed into a being of energy and shot toward Kent. When it connected, a creature rose up from the ground and shattered, cutting Kent with its shrapnel. Injured, Kent fell into the tree and broke a couple of branches. Both Hades and Kent heard two girls scream and saw two young sprites paralyzed in fear after witnessing Hades power.

"I see other beings that wish for death," Hades chuckled, "I'll deal with them first, then finish you off." He turned away from Kent and raised its wings toward the two young sprites.

"FIA! HELP!" the sprite with the ponytails screamed.

Hades chuckled. It was satisfying the way his victims screamed before they faced death. He slowly made his way toward the sprites, ignoring Kent for the moment. One of the things Kent hated the most was being ignored. He flew up into the sky and drove his spear into Hades' back. Roaring in pain, Hades tried to bite Kent, but Kent leapt back to ground.

"I guess it was foolish of me not to have finished you off," Hades snarled.

"I'll seal you into Eternity," Kent promised madly, "Eternal Twilight!"

Kent a launched a series of 8 slashes in multiple directions then gathered power into Lorelei. When it was fully charged, Kent shot a powerful beam at Hades. Badly injured, Hades only shot Kent a look of pure rage. A magic circled appeared and Hades teleported away just as the glow around Kent and his six wings shattered. Kent collapsed into the ground and lost consciousness.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

AN: The next chapter will be a new chapter and should be updated at the same time as this chapter (I hope that makes sense…)


	4. Kindness

AN: It took me long time to update. I either had writers' block or I was too lazy. Hey, there's a reason why I had the word "Phoenix" in my pen name.

Disclaimer: Same news. Don't own it.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ch. 4 Kindness

Kent felt some liquid being poured into his mouth and nearly spat it out. Instead, he reflexive swallowed the vile thing and felt some of his strength returning to him. Cautiously, he opened his eyes and found a red-haired woman leaning over him. "Oh good, you're awake," the sprite sighed in relief. "Why's that good?" Kent croaked. There were two reasons why he didn't immediately lash out with Lorelei. Reason 1 was because he was still a bit weak. Reason 2 was because he knew that he owed her a favor and with his sense of duty and responsibility, it was unthinkable for him to attack her without first paying what he owed. "Well, it's just a relief that you didn't turn into a toad or anything. My friends tell me that my potions cause some weird affects," Cierra told him. "WHAT!" Kent immediately regretted not following his first instinct to spit the potion out. "Don't worry, there were some weird side affects while you were unconscious, but my fifth potion fixed all that. By the way, my name's Cierra and the two children you saved are—". At this point, the pony tailed sprite interrupted, "Lina's not a kid!" "…Lina and Molan." Cierra finished, "What's yours?" "The guy who feels worse than when the fight was over," Kent gagged. Kent wondered why he was feeling worse a while ago, and now that he found out that five potions were poured in him, it was a miracle he was still living. "Why did you help me?" Kent asked, "You saw my wings didn't you?" "Mm, yeah. What type of sprite are you?" Cierra asked. "Sprite!" Kent gapped, 'She doesn't know a Grim Angel when she sees one?' "Look, I'm a Grim Angel," Kent announced bluntly, "You know, messenger of the gods, raining destruction upon those who get in our way." "Really? A friend of mine is a Grim Angel. I'm sure both of you would become fast friends," Cierra remarked. 'Something tells me that Ein that didn't tell this girl anything about me,' Kent thought. "Alright, I'll say it slowly: Ein and I are _enemies_," Kent gritted out. "But you saved Lina and Molan. That can't mean you're enemies," Cierra pointed out. "I only stopped Hades because he's my enemy. That does not mean I planned on saving those two brats," Kent snarled. He ignored Lina and Molan's complaints. "I think you saved them because you're a kind and gentle person," Cierra commented, "Do you think you can help us get back to the village?" "I gave up my kindness when I became a Grim Angel. Just continue walking to the right to go back to your village. Since I returned the favor, the next time we meet, I'm not going to be merciful," Kent told Cierra. He spread his wings open and flew into the sky.

Cierra watched as Kent became a speck in the sky. 'Gave up his kindness? Then why didn't he just get rid of us?' Cierra wondered. After hearing that Kent was the Grim Angel that was after Ein, Lina and Molan started bawling. "All right, you two. Let's go home and tell Ein and the others about this," Cierra suggested. "But where do we go?" Lina sniffed. "Let's head in this direction," Cierra said, walking right. "Isn't that where that mean angel said we should go? What if it's a trap?" Molan pointed out. Cierra wondered why she felt like trusting an enemy's advice. There was something about him that said that he could be trusted, a sense of pride that told her that he would fight his enemies face to face rather than to use deception to get rid of them. "It's the best advice we have so far," Cierra told them. Not wanting to be left alone anymore, Lina and Molan hurried after Cierra.

After some minutes passed, Cierra, Lina, and Molan reached the village. Everyone was busy repairing the damage that had been caused by the pacts of Hell Hounds. "Lina!" Fia called out, waving her arm so that Lina could find them. "Fia!" Lina ran over to her and started bawling again, "That was so scary!" "What happened?" Ein asked. "We ran into a Grim Angel," Cierra explained, "My, that was an experience." "You met a Grim Angel? Was it Kent?" Ein demanded. "…He didn't tell me," Cierra realized, "He had brown hair and was wearing green robes. He did say you knew him." "It's Kent," Ein sighed. "You faced him! Are you all right? Did he do anything to you?" Fia shot off. "We're fine. He was actually quite…nice," Cierra remarked. "Kent? Nice?" Ein looked skeptical, "All I could say is that he's obsessed with his duties even more so than Ledah." "He did save Molan and Lina from the dragon skeleton Hades," Cierra pointed out. "Hades? Kent would fight him because he knows what would happen if Hades were allowed to roam free. He didn't do it to save anyone," Ein grumbled. "So, we have Kent, Hades, and the Desolate for enemies," Serene counted off, "Who do you start off with?" Ein thought about it. They didn't have to go after Kent right away. If he acted the same way as Ein remembered, Kent would go after the bigger threat first, which would be Hades. As long as they stay out of his sight, they wouldn't have to worry about Kent until later. Hades would be difficult to locate since he teleports all over the place, and trying to use bait won't work since Hades would blow everything anyway. That left the Desolate, but they had no idea where they were either. "What are you thinking about?" Serene asked when all the girls noticed how hard Ein was thinking. "Would anyone know where to find the Desolate?" Ein had to ask. "Ein, this is the first time we heard of them," Serene pointed out. "Perhaps Grandfather would know. He knows a lot about legends and perhaps the Desolate are in one of them," Fia suggested.

Kent wasn't feeling very happy with himself when he paused to think in Heaven's Gate. Though he dealt massive damage to Hades, he didn't have the chance to finish him off. He also tried to use his six wings and the new Execution Overskill, but those wouldn't come to him. That was the other thing that puzzled him: the new skills that he used once were never mentioned in any legends or records. He guessed that that could be good news. A new weapon to be used in the service of the gods, if he could actually use them again. A hologram of a magus appeared and hovered majestically before Kent. "Grim Angel, servant of the gods, report the situation," he ordered. Kent cringed as his mind went from one bad news to another. Didn't he have any good news to report? When Kent couldn't find one, he blurted out what he could, "I didn't find Ein, but I found Hades and fought but couldn't finish him, but I did discover a new power that nobody told me existed and I might be able to beat Ein with it, but I can't make it come out again, so…" Kent rambled out. The Magus had the stern look of a school teacher waiting for a child to finish his excuses. The truth is that the Magus was trying to decipher what Kent was saying through that entire rabble. "You said you discovered a new power?" the Magus inquired. "Only once," Kent reminded him. "What was it like?" the Magus pressed. "Weeeellll…I don't actually know since I was in the middle of the fight. But I felt my power restored and I think I caught a glimpse of six wings instead of my current two," Kent described. The Magus pondered over the new development. From what Kent had described, that knowledge was only available to the Magi. It was said that the power belonged to those closest to the gods and that they were the predecessors of the Grim Angels. 'Could it be that this power is now returning to our world?' the Magus thought. Kent hated to wait in silence because it put him in an awkward position. "Impressive," the Magus finally spoke up, "Continue to learn about this power. It would be a great asset to do the will of the gods." The image of the Magus disappeared, leaving a startled Kent.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Back in the realm of the gods, the Magus spoke to his other members about this new development. "The power of the Seraphs are returning? The Seraphs were the closest agents of the gods and were more powerful than us," one Magus exclaimed, "They disappeared from our world when the gods disappeared." "Indeed. The gods are still missing, so how can the Seraphs return?" the second Magus agreed, "Nevertheless, this new development will make dispatching the Grim Angel a more difficult task" "Do not be alarmed," the Magus who had spoken to Kent advised his collages, "The Grim Angel does not know how to use his power. We still have plenty of time in our hands." Nodding in agreement, the Magi began planning their next stage of the operation.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

AN: Chapter 4 is done. It'll be a while for chapter 5 to go up, so enjoy this chapter till next time.


	5. The Hidden Way

AN: I'M BAAAACKKKK! I got a nice long vacation, but got a sucky plot development in return. Oh well, at least it's not a job, otherwise I'd be fired 10x over. I haven't exactly "returned" returned. I have been going around posting reviews here and there and working on my other story.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything that has to deal with Riviera.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ch. 5 Hidden Way

Ein and his group entered the Elder's house which was currently still being repaired from the battle yesterday. In the house at their usual position were the Elder and Laddie.

"Elder, we need to know about something," Ein began.

"This would be about the Desolate, would it not?" the Elder inquired. When he received nods from everyone, he sighed, "Unfortunately, the Desolate are new to me as well. I will not be able to help you, much to my regret."

"What? But Lina thought you knew everything!" Lina looked like she was about to bawl.

"Please don't give me that look," the Elder begged, "I might not know anything, but Claude might."

Almost everyone beamed at the good news. Serene was the one who was skeptical, "But Claude's much younger than you. If you don't know about them, how would he know?"

"Appearances can be deceiving young one. Remember, Claude is a dryad and dryads are known to live for about a thousand years. Claude may look young, but he is 356 years old," the Elder informed them.

As Serene stood there flabbergasted, her friends dragged her over to the Magic Guild.

When Ein and the others arrived at the Magic Guild, they found Claude already studying his books. Not only that, but he had Soala and Nana help him sort through the information.

"Greetings, Ein. I was expecting you," Claude said as he looked up from his books and saw Ein and the others.

Before he could tell them anything, Serene bursted out, "Is it true that you're really 300 and something years old?"

"360, yes," Claude confirmed, "Please tell me that you didn't come here just to ask that?"

"She just received a shock along the way," Fia explained.

"Is that so? Now, about the Desolate, I haven't find much about them as of now, but I did find someplace that is related to Hades," Claude reported, "Accordingly, he was sealed away in Parvujee Temple which is hidden beneath Mireno Cemetery."

"How's that supposed to help?" Serene scoffed.

"It's better than nothing, isn't it?" Claude reasoned, "If you want to find something else, help yourselves." Claude gestured to mountains of books that have yet to be touched.

Everyone's eyes widened at the sight of maybe 1,000 books and they were not thin.

"Uh, we'll pass and take what you got," Serene laughed nervously with a sweat drop running down her brow.

"So it's decided. To Mireno Cemetery!" Ein announced.

They reached the deserted village and came to the well that led deep into Mireno Cemetery.

"Uh, Ein? You did remember to bring a rope?" Fia asked as they looked into the empty well.

"I thought Lina brought it," Ein said, sweatdropping.

"Lina doesn't have it," Lina whined.

Everyone sweatdropped and began thinking of a way to get down the well without injuries.

"Maybe Serene could carry us down there one at a time?" Ein suggested.

"No way, pervert!" Serene screeched, "I ain't giving you the opportunity to grope me!"

To make her point, she slapped Ein across his cheek, leaving a red hand print on his face.

"But, but, I wasn't thinking that! I don't do things like that anyway!" Ein protested.

"But you were peeping on us when Fia and I were bathing!" Lina accused.

"And you walked in on Serene and I while we were bathing," Cierra pointed out.

"That was an accident!" Ein insisted. He could hear Rose laughing and caught something that sounded like, 'More like an accident on purpose .'

As Ein continued to plead his innocence, Cierra remembered a spell that could help them.

"I have a spell we could use," Cierra announced, "The floating ladder or the magic rope."

Everyone stopped bickering with Ein to stare at Cierra.

"Cierra, you're a genius!" Lina chirped.

"Oh, it's nothing," Cierra giggled.

"At least someone is using their brain around here," Serene said, glaring at Ein.

"This wasn't only my fault," Ein argued, but poor Ein was ignored.

"Now then, which should we use: the ladder or the rope?" Cierra aked.

"Anything's fine for Lina," Lina said.

"Same here. We just need to get down," Serene agreed.

"C'mon, we mustn't be indecisive. Please choose," Cierra begged.

"Let's go with the ladder," Fia decided.

She remembered what happened the last time Cierra had asked that question and didn't want to take any chances for a repeat performance, especially when Ein had a chance to peek at something he wasn't supposed to back then.

Cierra began chanting a spell and out of thin air a ladder appeared, going down a well.

"We'll go first, Ein will go last. That way, when Ein looks up, he won't see anything," Serene ordered.

"Why does everyone think I'm a pervert?" Ein complained.

"Meow, meow," Rose patted Ein's foot with her paw.

Sulking Ein followed the girls down the well.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

AN: I need to work on two stories and the other one is long overdue for an update. I'll keep working on this though, so if anyone's reading, please review so that I know going back to this story isn't a waste of time.


End file.
